Dry Bearing Damper for ATS Engines

101 Dry Bearing Damper for ATS Engines--Rotordynamics-Seals Research, 3628 Madison Avenue, Suite 20, North Highlands, CA 95660-5071; (916) 344-9500 Dr. Joseph K. Scharrer, Principal Investigator Mrs. Denise M. Miller, Business Official DOE Grant No. DE-FG03-97ER82471 Amount: $74,985 Successful commercialization of advanced technologies for the utilization of natural gas will reduce the use of oil and coal while providing benefits to the U.S. environment and economy. Ultra high-efficiency gas turbines power systems, such as the advanced turbine system engine currently under development, require a significant amount of damping at the bearings to minimize the rotor vibratory response and to avoid rotordynamic instabilities. Although oil-lubricated squeeze film dampers have been used in the past to dampen gas-turbine bearings, they are limited by maximum allowable oil temperature and require expensive auxiliary equipment to supply, filter, cool, and remove the oil. Constructing a novel, oil-free bearing damper design for environments from room temperature to 500oC is the subject of Phase I of this project. The novelty of the design is that it is a simple, low-cost device that requires no auxiliary systems and has been shown in tests to provide damping equal to or greater than that of oil-based bearing dampers. A prototype damper will be built based on the design requirements of an advanced turbine system engine and tested in the laboratory. Phase II will encompass the optimization of the damper design through component testing and software simulation. This will be followed by the fabrication and testing of a damper on an advanced turbine system engine. Commercial Applications and Other Benefits as described by the awardee: This innovation will bring about reliable, low-cost bearing dampers for hot gas systems. Other direct benefits will accrue to suppliers of the advance turbine system engine and all gas turbines manufacturers.